


A Regency Affair

by PromptlyGoing



Category: Monster of the Week (Tabletop RPG), Seven Miles (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Regency, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-11-13 22:57:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18040691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PromptlyGoing/pseuds/PromptlyGoing
Summary: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a pair of young talents under the patronage of a mysterious benefactor must not find themselves wanting that which they cannot have.Stefan Bennett has a life debt to pay but Valentine is nothing if not tenacious.





	A Regency Affair

**Author's Note:**

  * For [konoyo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/konoyo/gifts).



> A story for Seven Miles, the MOTW tabletop campaign. Cheers Taya!

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a pair of young talents under the patronage of a mysterious benefactor must not find themselves wanting that which they cannot have.  

And for the most part, this reality didn’t bother Stefan Bennet and Evalyn Ruiz very much.  They were grateful - well, Stefan moreso than Evalyn - for all that their patron had done for them over the years, when no one else had seen fit to support and pay for the education of a pair of children the convent had taken off the street.  Their patron, unnamed and unknown as he was, had raised them from the mud of Key West and given them a fighting chance. Stefan was knew he was lucky. Really. He did.

It didn’t make it any easier to look Valentine Ewing in the face and tell them no.  

“I have a debt to pay,” Stefan explains gently.  It’s raining outside, the two of them taking shelter at a pavilion along the beach.  “My feelings,” he finds himself flushing. “They are not important. I owe my patron everything, and am not free to just do as I will.”  

Valentine looks utterly drenched, dark hair escaping their tie and falling around their face.  Stefan wants to take one of those locks and tuck it behind their ear. Wants to press Val against the nearest pillar and kiss them, cradle their face between his hands and breath in the scent of pressed linen and coffee that they seem to carry with them everywhere.

A terrible, practical part of Stefan wants to take Val home to the humble boarding house he and Evalyn share and show them all that they own in the world, make them understand just how far apart their worlds are.  

Even if the name Bennet was worth anything, Stefan hardly deserved Valentine’s favor, not after the way he’d spurned them when they’d approached him with their confession all those months ago.  Yes, Valentine had been an ass and yes, perhaps the two of them had come to blows in the rose garden, an incident that had resulted in a coldly worded letter from his patron and a noticeable dip in funds.

But what kind of person did all that Valentine had done for him?  Unbearable and cold and rude in turns, even their proposal backhanded every other word, only to turn around and save his good name when Stefan’s reputation was about to be dragged through the mud.  Damn Gin, and their reckless behavior while under Stefan’s care.

And now, staying the night at Valentine’s estate, getting a taste of what a home together might feel like - Stefan cannot bear it.  

“Look, I don’t think you get it,” Valentine says patiently.  They take Stefan’s hand in theirs and smooth a thumb over his knuckles. “You’re pretty hot, and like, I know I can have an attitude problem but I like you a lot.  And obviously you like me or you wouldn’t be here.”

Stefan finds his face warming.  “You presume my feelings!” he protests, snatching his hand back.  

“Look, I’m not presuming anything, I’ve just got eyes.”  

“I’ve already told you why I can’t!  Why must you keep tormenting me with that which I cannot have-”  

“I’m not trying to torment you with anything!  With other things yeah, cause you make it easy and it’s fun, but I’m not joking around with this love-”

Stefan glares.  “Evalyn will kill me,” he hisses.  “She already thinks my behavior is unfitting of our position.”  

Valentine stares at him blankly. “Dude, Evalyn and Avery got married last week.”  

Stefan blanches.  “ _What_?”

“Uh, do you need to sit down?”  No, Stefan did not need to sit down, Stefan was _fine-_ oh, actually his legs were a little shaky, what do you know.  He lands on the bench with a heavy thump, Val’s hand on his elbow and their concern clear on their face.  

Valentine clears their throat.  “I will admit, my behavior since the beginning of our acquaintance has not...been what it should have been.  I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been thinking about what you told me when I first proposed. You opinion of my character was, well, woof, it really took me down a peg.”  

They sit on the bench next to Stefan then, a tender look on their face.  “You’re a lot of things, but you’re not cruel so I’m just going to give it to you straight.”  Valentine reaches out, as if to grab Stefan’s hand, then curls it and holds back at the last moment.  Gives Stefan his space.

“If you still feel the same way about me as you did a few months ago, when you cursed me out of your sitting room, just let me know.” Val bites their lip and looks away.  “My feelings haven’t changed at all, but one word from you, and I’ll never bother you again.”

Oh.   _Oh_ .  

In Stefan’s heart something soars.  

“Valentine,” Stefan says, strangled.  “What was that you said about Avery and Evalyn getting married.”  

Val blinks.  “Uh, Avery bought out her contract. They’re loaded, it took some finagling but they talked to someone in Miami and made it work.  Did she really not tell you?”

_"Stefan, we need to have an important conversation-”_

“Nope, sorry, busy, can’t talk right now!” Stefan running out of their rooms in a panic, afraid of Evalyn confronting him with everything he himself felt conflicted with.

“Oh balls,” Stefan says miserably.  “Uh.”

Val raises an eyebrow.  “Yeah?”

“I think she might have tried but I ghosted her.”  

A snort.  “Well she and Avery are happy, that’s all you really need to know.  Now the real question is,” Valentine says, getting down on one knee, “is will you let me?  Make you happy, that is.”

They look nervous.  “I didn’t actually expect to get this far today so I didn’t bring a ring, but I know a jeweler on Duval who does fast work, I can get one ordered by-”  

Stefan silences them with a kiss.  The rain continues to pour down around them but in this moment, the world has given them this perfect moment of joy.  

“Yes, of course,” he laughs.  Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times over.  


End file.
